Current PhD Students

Chelsea Ras

I am a PhD student studying under Dr. Christopher Weisener (GLIER) and Dr. Lori Phillips (Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada).  I am seeking to understand complex environmental factors regulating greenhouse gas emissions controlled by microbial biogeochemical cycles at the water-sediment interface in an agricultural drainage ditch subjected to different vegetation management strategies in Southern Ontario.

Current MSc Students

Katie Crundwell

My name is Katie I am a masters student at GLIER (University of Windsor) and I started in September 2024. I have always been really interested in environmental health, particularly aquatic. My masters project perfectly fits into my interests and skill set as I am investigating water quality and potential sources of pollution in Sturgeon Creek, a Lake Erie tributary. 

Current Undergraduate Research Assistants

Serena Schaffer
Melanie Gosselin
Samantha Shepley

PhD

Nick Falk
Thomas Reid
Danielle VanMensel
Nadia Tarakki
Yu-Ting Chen
Christina Smeaton

Yuanyan Zi

Yuanyan Zi is from Yunnan, China. Her project focuses on the internal loading of Lake Erie under reduced external loading conditions and the functional responses of sediment microorganisms to that. Her research combines field investigations and laboratory simulation experiments, utilizing sensors and molecular approaches to explore environmental and microbial changes in sediments

Alumni

Sean Leng

I am a second-year master's student observing how nitrogen deposition affects microbial communities in the Athabasca Oil Sand region's reclaimed and reference wetlands. My sampling took place in July 2023. Sediment and water samples were collected for DNA/RNA extraction and water chemistry analysis.

Luke Mawhinney

My name is Luke and I’m a second-year master’s student looking at the impacts of antimicrobial agents on microbial freshwater sediment communities. My work specializes in microbial community analysis encompassing diversity, functionality, and nutrient dynamics. I received a Bachelor of Environmental Science Degree from the University of Windsor in 2023

MSc

Chelsea Salter
Matthew Day
Savannah Knorr
Tilak Patel
Adam Skoyles
Carsten Slama
Deseree Chevalier
Jesse Gardner Costa
Michael Chen
Rachel Franzblau
Ryan Boudens
Sabari Prakasan M.R.
Sara Butler
Zachary Diloreto

Peter Jobin

Peter Jobin, PhD Student at the University of Windsor - Great Lakes Institute for Environmental Research. I received a Bachelors of Science degree at the University of Windsor in 2024. With previous work and experience including geology and petrography research, as well as general GIS knowledge, tools and mapping. Born and raised in Chatham, Ontario.

Zachary Hilbert

I am a second-year master's student at GLIER, graduated with a Bachelors in Environmental Science in 2024. My main area of study is freshwater microbiology and my research is focused on tributaries of lake Ontario and how urbanization and precipitation affects their microbial community structures. 

Bryce Ducharme

I am a Master’s student at the Great Lakes Institute for Environmental Research (GLIER) under the supervision of Dr. Christopher Weisener. My research focuses on exploring the microbiome potential in waste rock material found in Arctic biomes. Specifically, I am investigating how microbial communities shift in response to anthropogenic influences, such as mining activities, and environmental factors like climate change.